Good Intentions Are Dead

I'm so bad at blogging it's out of this world. Are these supposed to be updated daily? Weekly? Whenever the Spirit moves me? I'm not sure.

So, I got my financial aid check (yay!) and I'm looking at where I should tithe. I know that we are supposed to give back to the church, but the Bible doesn't say that I have to attend that church. And, aren't we all, as the body of Christ, the church anyways? And these buildings we meet in are just micro churches to the big gigantic church that we are all apart of? Well, if they are, I think that some churches are in more need then others. Financially and socially speaking. So, I'm looking for something that has two or more people coming together to do some good.
Invisible Children is where I went first. I love this organization and have followed if pretty faithfully. Except for those early days I spend in that convent at the beginning of the year. I'm still in that convent, but they unlock my door every now and then to let me get out into the real world so that I can make sure that the sky is still blue and North Korea hasn't blown us all to smithereens yet.
So yes, back to Invisible Children. They promote awareness to the social issue of children soldiers in Uganda. This has exploded! Thanks to the awareness that they have raised real changes are being made. And the best part, the movement directly supports the programs. Meaning that your money goes to help people. Not pay for 1st class tickets for the camera man. How often does that happen?
OK, I'm plugging my love for them, yes I know. So what I really wanted to talk about was a blog entry that they posted.

http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/2010/08/discuss-does-being-a-foreigner-make-you-qualified-to-help-in-the-developing-world/


This made me think of how many missions we all go out on in the name of Jesus. Why do we go out to proclaim the name of the Lord? Give shoes? Build a building? Make them dinner and invite them to worship then leave a week later and never talk to these people again? Was a seed planted? Well, I certainly hope so. But this simply is not enough. It is not enough to go and give a pair of shoes and say that we told someone in a foreign country about Jesus and kick rocks a week later with the thought that we've done something noble. People need relationship!!!
Isaiah 64:6 says "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" We can go out and kiss the head of every orphan in the world and tell each and everyone of them that Jesus loves them. And that kid may, or may not know what that means and we can still go to hell. To show them Jesus would be to show them love. The same love that He showed us when he did that crazy cross thing. Remember that? When he was beaten beyond recognition and nailed to a cross and left to die an innocent man in between two guilty ones. All for people that were already dead, who were killing him, and who weren't even in existence yet. He had, and still has, and always will have, an invested interest in us. Shouldn't we show the same love and interest in each other, who were created in His image? Give something more? Give our lives and education to become the best givers that we possibly could?
I know that I'm posing a lot of questions. But I feel that to really really help people, it takes more then a small act of kindness, it takes an act of interest. And then from that interest a choice. We can either chose to make a difference, and really show them what Jesus is about, love. A love that we can all have for eternity Or we can chose to simply help someone so we can make it all about us, give ourselves a good pat on the back and some cool pictures we can upload onto our facebooks.